Federal Govt Urged To Close AI Infrastructure Gap

Industry experts have charged the federal government to accelerate the development of digital infrastructure and establish clear policy frameworks to address Nigeria’s growing artificial intelligence (AI) skills gap.

The request was made in Abuja at an AI dialogue hosted by the Rural Education and Digital Learning Initiative (REDLI) following a six-week digital skills training for 95 young Nigerians.

At the event, the executive director of REDLI, Andikan Umoh, urged policymakers to address the high cost of access, infrastructure deficits, and credit-based subscription models that currently limit local talent access to AI technologies.

Umoh stressed that Nigeria must actively participate in setting regulatory standards and developing indigenous AI systems to prevent over-reliance on foreign platforms trained on non-African datasets.
“There’s no better time to have this conversation than now. We need to start doing things around this, whether through policy or even by building our own tools,” Umoh stated, highlighting risks associated with algorithmic bias and digital misuse.

Similarly, the Executive Director of the Youth Employment Development Initiative, Akin Akinbisola, faulted high data tariffs and poor rural connectivity as primary barriers to broader technological inclusion.

Akinbisola urged public-sector institutions to modernise workflows and address privacy concerns through robust data protection safeguards, while advising young people to treat AI platforms as productivity aids rather than replacements for human critical thinking.

The organisers urged relevant government agencies to expand digital literacy initiatives and lower data costs to ensure Nigerian youths remain competitive in the global digital economy.